JP7249260B2 - emergency notification system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to emergency notification systems and methods.

Many buildings have emergency alarm systems to detect fires, thefts, or other types of events. Such alarm systems can be more or less sophisticated and they analyze images for potentially dangerous items from stand-alone fire alarm units and report such events to security operators. , and advanced monitoring systems with surveillance cameras.

Various types of emergency alarm systems for buildings typically include some type of detector and some method of indicating that the detector has been triggered. In the example of a stand-alone fire alarm unit, the detector can be a photoelectric detector or an ionization detector. When smoke particles enter the detector, an alarm unit is activated and a loudbell or horn sounds to provide an indication of detection. In the case of advanced monitoring systems, cameras can be considered detectors. An indication of detection may be in the form of a message to a security operator. In another example, the detector is in the form of a microphone connected to software or hardware that analyzes the acquired sound and compares it to a typical profile for sounds indicative of an emergency, such as an explosion or gunshot.

While all those emergency alarm systems have many advantages, there are also some associated disadvantages. Stand-alone detectors have the obvious drawback of not covering all parts of large buildings. This can be addressed by including several standalone units or by connecting the units together so that when one of the units makes a detection, they all fire. In some cases, detection by any of the units will also cause an automatic alarm to be sent to alarm central alert emergency response personnel. However, in many cases there is no indication of where in the building the detection occurred.

Even if the system is sophisticated by including individually addressable units with location information logged for each unit, it is still difficult to communicate such location information quickly to emergency response personnel. There is This is because once emergency responders arrive at the site, it is often difficult for them to quickly understand where to focus their initial activities within the building, and there may be a single or multiple points of emergency within the building. This means that valuable time can be wasted looking for locations. Additionally, the site of an emergency may move within the building, such as when weapons are being fired at many different points within the building. This is especially a problem for large multi-storey buildings such as schools, large apartments or office buildings.

Even if location information for each active unit is available to security operators, it may still be difficult for emergency response personnel to obtain and use the information at the site of the emergency. For example, they may not have the technical equipment to access the information, or they may have lost logical access to the monitoring system. This may be the case, for example, when emergency responders from another area deal with an alarm. Again, in large buildings, valuable time can be wasted trying to identify the alarm source.

Additionally, if the emergency is spreading or moving through the building, not only the location of the triggered alarm unit, but also the timeline is important. As an example, in the case of a gas explosion inside a large building, it is useful to know if the explosion site is moving in a particular direction. The same goes for gunshot detectors. It is very important here to be able to understand where the gunshot was heard. This is because there may be an injured person who needs prompt treatment. Also, it is very important to know where the gunshot was last heard so that the location where the gunshot source has stopped can be determined.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved emergency alarm system in which alarm location information can be quickly and easily transmitted to emergency responders arriving at large buildings.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an emergency notification system in which information regarding the location of an emergency within a large building is immediately and conveniently available to emergency response personnel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, an emergency notification system is provided for providing information outside a building regarding emergency events occurring inside the building. The emergency notification system consists of a set of sensors located at multiple sensor locations inside the building and an indicator such that the light or heat signal emitted by the indicator is detectable from outside the building. , a set of indicators located at a plurality of indicator locations, and a timer;
Each sensor is associated with a nearby indicator,
each sensor configured to detect a predetermined sound associated with an emergency event and, in response to detecting the predetermined sound, transmit event information to its associated indicator;
each indicator configured to receive event information from its associated sensor and emit a first light or heat signal in response to receiving the event information;
Each indicator receives a timer signal from the timer such that the set of indicators together form an indication over time of the sensor location within the building at which a given sound was detected, detectable from outside the building. It is configured to change properties of the first optical or thermal signal based on the timer signal.

The emergency notification system allows emergency response personnel arriving at the building to access the monitoring system or conduct a time-consuming and potentially dangerous search for emergency event sites within the building. To conveniently and simply visualize the location(s) of emergency events occurring inside a building. In this way, the emergency team can quickly focus its activities on the most relevant parts of the building and not waste valuable time trying to locate the site of the emergency event within the building. Over time indications provided by indicators that show recent sensor detections that differ from older detections show which parts of the building are affected by the emergency event and where it is now moving or spreading. , can be understood quickly.

Since the temporal indication is detectable from outside the building, it is not necessary to either log into the security system or enter the building without knowledge of where in the building the emergency event is occurring. In the case of fires, the indication over time provides valuable insight into which parts of the building the fire is spreading, and also gives hints as to the direction in which it is spreading. In the event of an emergency event moving within a building, such as moving within a building, unauthorized heavy vehicles, or weapons firing at various locations, time-lapse indications require immediate medical attention. Provides insight into the likelihood of injuries and where the perpetrator was last detected.

A time-of-day indication may also prompt someone passing through the building to call emergency services and alert them to the situation, especially if the indicator uses a visible light signal. For example, in the case of automatic alarms on failure of the emergency alarm center, this can save valuable time.

The properties of the emitted first light or heat signal may be changed according to a predetermined scheme according to the elapsed time from the detection of the predetermined sound according to the timer signal.

The property of the first optical or thermal signal that is altered in response to the timer signal may be one or more of wavelength or intensity. With each of them, the indicator can provide a variety of distinct signals that can be seen or detected from a distance.

Each sensor may be associated with the closest indicator in the set of indicators. Or, alternatively, each sensor may be associated with an indicator located within the building, either in the same room as the sensor, or on the outer surface of this room. Both of these options provide a physical or spatial association between indicators and sensors, which improves visualization of which parts of the building are involved in the emergency event.

A set of indicators may be connected in a mesh network. This allows the indicators to send information to each other. As an example, a first indicator in the set of indicators may be configured to send a mesh network message to all other indicators in the mesh network after receiving event information from its associated sensor. In this way all other indicators are informed of the detection of an emergency event within the building. A mesh network may be based on wired or wireless connections between indicators. A mesh network may, for example, be provided as a cloud network. Alternatively, connections between indicators may be provided through local networks.

The mesh network may, for example, determine if a second indicator in the set of indicators has received a mesh network message and if the second indicator is not currently emitting a first light or heat signal. may be used when configured to emit a second, non-time-dependent light or heat signal, different from the light or heat signal of the first. In this way, the second indicator is functional and ready to emit a heat or light signal, but its associated sensor does not (yet) detect any emergency. can be done. In addition, emitting a second thermal or optical signal from all indicators that have not received any event information from their associated sensors, especially if optical signals are used, can enhances the external alarm function from light or heat signals in the building, thereby notifying passers-by that something unusual is happening inside the building. As mentioned earlier, this could prompt someone passing through the building to call emergency services and alert them to the situation.

The emergency notification system may further include memory configured to receive and store event information. In this way, historical information about emergency events can be obtained and later analyzed. Each indicator may be configured to transmit event information received from its associated sensor to a memory so that the event information may be stored in memory for later use. The memory may be connected to the mesh network via wired or wireless connections. This allows the indicator to send event information to the memory through the mesh network.

Event information stored in memory is used by emergency notification systems to
a. a request-for-answer unit configured to receive input from a user;
b. A control unit for controlling a set of indicators, after input from the user received at the request-to-answer unit:
i. Get event information from memory,
ii. a control unit configured to control a set of indicators and respond to indications over time according to event information retrieved from memory;
may be used in embodiments further comprising

In this embodiment, for example, as the emergency response team arrives at the building, visualization of a historical summary of the progress of the emergency event over time can be achieved quickly. By requesting a reply in the reply requesting unit, the indicator may show a chronological indication from the start of the emergency event to the current time.

The answer request unit may be in the form of a push button switch located on the building. This is a simple and user-friendly form in which a user, ie an emergency service representative, can provide input to the control unit. No logins or complicated access procedures are required, instead emergency response personnel preferably identify a clearly marked push-button switch on the building and press it to request a return of time-of-day indications. only one thing is required.

The predetermined sound that the sensor is configured to detect may be a regular rescue sound, engine sound, explosion sound, crash sound, or gunshot. Additionally or alternatively, the predetermined sound may be an alarm sound from an alarm speaker, bell, buzzer, or horn. The sensors are sounds related to those emergency events, all of which indicate that something unusual is happening in the building that requires the attention of emergency or law enforcement services. It may be configured to detect one or more.

According to a second aspect of the invention, an emergency notification method for providing information to an outside of a building about an emergency event occurring inside the building comprises:
A set of sensors located at multiple sensor locations inside the building and a set of indicators, the indicator locations being such that the light or heat signal emitted by the indicator is detectable from outside the building. each of the indoor sensors associated with a nearby indicator;
a sensor in the set of sensors detecting a predetermined sound associated with an emergency event and, in response to detecting the predetermined sound, transmitting event information to its associated indicator;
the indicator receiving event information from its associated sensor and emitting a first light or heat signal detectable from outside the building in response to receiving the event information;
A timer receives a timer signal from the timer such that the set of indicators together form an indication over time of a sensor location within the building at which a predetermined sound was detected, detectable from outside the building. changing a property of the first optical or thermal signal based on the signal;
including the steps of

The second aspect of the invention is associated with the same advantages as discussed in relation to the first aspect.

Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to "a/an/the [elements, devices, components, means, steps, etc.]" refer to the elements, devices, components, Interpreted broadly as referring to at least one example of means, steps, and the like. The operations of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed unless explicitly stated. Moreover, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps.

The above-disclosed and other aspects of the invention will now be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an emergency notification system. FIG. 2 shows details of the emergency notification system. FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the emergency notification system of FIG. FIG. 4 shows a more detailed diagram of the system of FIG. FIG. 5 shows yet another embodiment of an emergency notification system. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an emergency notification method.

Further, like reference characters in the drawings indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. Note that for the sake of clarity, the figures are not drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 shows a building 100 equipped with an emergency notification system 102 according to the invention. Details of emergency notification system 102 are shown in FIG. The emergency notification system 102 includes several sensors 104 located at multiple different sensor locations or locations inside the building 100 and several indicators 106 located at multiple different indicator locations or locations. include.

Each indicator 106 can emit a light or heat signal, or a combination thereof, and is positioned such that the emitted signal is detectable or visible from outside the building 100 . Indicators 106 are not necessarily located outside building 100 . Instead, the indicator location requirement is that the signal emitted by the indicator 106 be detectable from outside the building 100 . Indicators 106 may be placed, for example, inside windows within building 100 when visual signals are used. If a thermal signal is used, the indicator should generally not be placed on the backside of a normal window glass, as this thermal signal is not detectable from the other side of the window.

If a visible signal is used, indicator 106 may include an illuminator that can change color or intensity. Alternatively, indicator 106 may include several different illuminators, each different from the others with respect to the properties that are changed. As an example, indicator 106 may include two or more LED illuminator units of different colors. When event information is received at indicator 106, a first color LED may illuminate. After a certain amount of time, the first color LED may be turned off and the second color LED may be turned on instead. Indicator 106 may be powered by, for example, a solar cell or battery, or may be connected to a power supply output.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the sensors 104 is a wired circuit based on Ethernet, inter-integrated circuit (I2C), serial peripheral interface (SPI), RS422, or RS485, or the like. or via connection 108, which may be wireless, such as based on ZigBee®, Bluetooth®, infrared ray or IR, or visible light communication (VLC). is connected to or associated with one of the Each indicator 106 is located around or near its associated sensor 104 . Or in other words, each sensor 104 is paired in physical or spatial sense with its associated indicator 106 . A sensor 104 may be located, for example, on the same floor, in the same room as its associated indicator 106, or next to it, or within a particular spatial or physical distance.

As a further option, more than one sensor 104 may be connected to one and the same indicator 106 . As an example, if the sensor 104 is located in a windowless room (eg, bathroom) near the center of the building, the sensor 104 may be placed near the sensor 104, such as the indicator 106, located in the same room. is associated with indicator 106 located at .

Sensor 104 includes a microphone and an analysis unit configured to analyze incoming audio signals from the microphone to recognize one or more predetermined sounds associated with an emergency event. . The predetermined sound may be a sound that can be heard by humans or a sound that is outside the range of human hearing (which can be used as a silent alarm). The analysis unit may, for example, perform a recognition of a given sound, techniques based on neural networks or other statistical methods, or other techniques for determining the similarity of an incoming sound to a defined, predetermined sound. may be used. Such predetermined sounds may be in the form of any sounds related to emergency or rescue-related events relating to a particular building. For example, fire alarms, screams or shouts, gunshots, explosions, impact or crash sounds, or the sounds of alarm bells, speakers, alarm buzzers, or alarm horns, such as from the sound of engines of large vehicles, inside buildings. .

Upon detection of such predetermined sound, sensor 104 transmits event information to its associated indicator 106 via connection 108 . The event information may be in the form of a prescribed message, signal, or other type of communication suitable for informing indicator 106 that sensor 104 has detected a prescribed sound. If the sensor 104 is configured to detect several defined sounds, the event information need not include which predetermined sound was detected, only that the detection occurred. However, event information may in some cases include information about what type of predetermined sound was detected. This information can then be used, for example, so that if a fire alarm bell is the predetermined sound detected, a different first light or heat signal may be emitted than if the predetermined sound detected is a gunshot. Additionally, it can be used to select properties of the first optical or thermal signal.

As long as a predetermined sound is detected, sensor 104 may continue to send event information to its associated indicator 106 . Alternatively, sensor 104 may send only one or a few repeated messages containing event information to its associated indicator 106 . Indicators 106 may also be configured to send back acknowledgments to sensors 104 that may be used to prompt sensors 104 to stop sending event information to their associated indicators 106 .

When the indicator 106 associated with the sensing sensor 104 receives event information from its associated sensor 104 , the indicator 106 receives a first heat or light signal (or , a combination of heat and light signals). If an optical signal is used, it can be in the form of visible or near-infrared (NIR) radiation. When a thermal signal is used, it can be in the form of thermal radiation, such as short, medium or long wavelength infrared radiation.

The first light or heat signal is either visible to the human eye or detectable by a camera from outside the building if NIR or thermal radiation is used. If NIR signals are used, they can be detected and visualized to the human eye using a visible light camera with the IR filter removed. If thermal radiation is used, a thermal camera can be used to detect the signal and visualize it to the human eye. It should also be noted that thermal cameras are generally part of the standard equipment for fire patrols. In either case, perhaps from looking at the outside of the building through a camera, it is possible to quickly know if the sensor 104 has detected one or more of the predetermined sounds in a single portion or multiple portions of the building. It becomes possible to

Indicator 106 is also connected to timer 110 and receives timer signals from timer 112 . One timer 110 may either be included in or connected to each indicator 106 . Alternatively, several indicators 106 may be connected to the same timer and receive signals from that timer. The connection between the timer and one or more indicators 106 may be wired or wireless, using any of the techniques described above, e.g., for connections in a mesh network between indicators 106 and sensors 104. can be based on Based on the timer signal, indicator 106 modifies properties of the first light or heat signal emitted from indicator 106 . The changed property may be the intensity or wavelength of the signal (the color of the visible signal). In this way it is readily possible to see how recently a detection was made in a particular part of the building 100 .

Indicator 106 may be configured not to change any properties of the first heat or light signal as long as its associated sensor 104 transmits event information. This may be preferable if the given sound relates to an emergency situation moving through a building, such as an explosion or a weapon being fired.

Instead, the indicator 106 indicates that the first event information at the indicator 106 regardless of whether the sensor 104 is still detecting the predetermined sound and transmitting event information to its associated indicator 106. A property of the first thermal or optical signal may be changed based on the time elapsed since it was received. This may be preferable if the emergency event is of the type that does not move diffusely through the building, such as when the predetermined sound is a fire alarm sound.

A different emitted first signal is shown in FIG. Here, some window-mounted indicators emit a signal of one color and others emit a signal of another color. For purposes of illustration, these colors are shown as black or with a dot pattern.

In FIG. 1, the signal with the dot pattern is emitted by window indicator 106 . Here, a specific amount of time has elapsed since detection was made by the sensor 104 in the room behind those windows. Black signals are emitted by those window indicators 106 that belong to the room and have recently been detected by the sensor 104 . In this way, the building is designed so that emergency service units such as fire patrols or law enforcement patrols arriving at the building can very quickly understand where to initially focus their activities within the building. A chronological indication of emergency events occurring within 100 is shown outside building 100 .

As an example, indicator 106 may emit a red light signal directly after receiving event information from its associated sensor 104 . After, for example, 5 minutes, the signal switches to a yellow light signal and remains in this state until the system is reset. As another example, indicator 106 may emit a high intensity signal upon activation. After a set period of time, this intensity may decrease, for example in steps or by decreasing continuously from high intensity to low intensity. It also allows the properties of a signal to be changed more than once. For example, it starts in red, then turns orange after some time, then turns yellow after some more time. It is also possible to combine changes in both wavelength and intensity.

3 and 4 show variations of the emergency notification system in which indicators 106 are connected together in a mesh network 109 and information can be exchanged between indicators 106. FIG. This is used to add another notification aspect to the system shown in FIG. That is, as soon as one sensor 104 makes a detection and sends event information to its associated indicator 106, this indicator notifies all other indicators 106 via the mesh network. All other indicators 106 emit a second, non-temporal, heat or light signal. This indicates that they are functioning but have not yet received any event information directly from their associated sensors 104 . This second, non-temporal signal is shown in FIG. 3 as having no pattern. The first signal is shown as having a black color or dot pattern as the first signal with changed properties.

Note that as soon as the indicator 106 receives event information from its associated sensor 104, the indicator 106 emits the first light or heat signal instead of emitting the second light or heat signal. Note also that it switches to

As an example, an indicator 106 receiving event information from its associated sensor 104 may emit a red light signal that turns to a yellow light signal after a specified time. A sensor 106 receiving a message over the mesh network from which another indicator 106 received the event information may emit a white light signal until it receives the event information from its own associated sensor 104 . After receiving the event information, the signal switches to a red light signal and subsequently switches to a yellow light signal after some time has passed.

FIG. 5 shows another variant of the emergency notification system. Here, event information received by indicator 106 is transmitted and stored in memory 112 , typically in communication (connected) to indicator 106 via mesh network 109 . Indicator 106 also adds some sort of timestamp to the event information sent to memory 112 based on the timer signal from timer 110 . Alternatively, memory 112 may add such a timestamp after receiving each piece of event information. Timestamps can be in real-time format such as "12:15 am" or some kind of relative time or delta such as "event occurred 15 minutes ago" or "signal from indicator was received 20 minutes ago". It can be either thyme. The addition of memory 112 to system 102 can store historical data about how emergency events have traveled and spread within building 100 .

Additionally, the emergency notification system 102 may include a response request unit 114 located at or near the building 100 . The reply request unit 114 may be in the form of a push button switch installed on the exterior wall of the building 100, for example. Control unit 116 may be connected to memory 112, reply request unit 114, and indicator 106 via mesh network 109 or the like. The reply request unit 114 may also be directly connected to the control unit 116 without going through the mesh network 109, as shown in FIG.

As an alternative to a push button, the request-to-answer unit 114 may be a near field communication device that is read, scanned, or received by a mobile device carried by emergency response personnel in the vicinity of the request-to-answer unit 114 . or NFC) or a QR code or codes transmitted via Bluetooth. The mobile device then uses this code, such as through a pre-installed application, to connect to the emergency notification system 102 and request playback. Yet another option is to have the reply request unit 114 read, scan, or receive such a code from the mobile device to initiate playback.

When the user operates the reply request unit 114, typically by pressing a button on a push button switch, the control unit 116 is notified of this user input. In response to this input, control unit 116 retrieves the event information stored in memory 112 and subsequently directs or instructs indicator 106 to return an indication of time since the start of the emergency event. Control. This reply may be a slow-motion or fast-forward reply, or real-time. By looking at the responses, it is possible to see where within the building 100 the emergency event occurred and how it moved or spread within the building 100 .

Once the reply is complete, the emergency notification system will be controlled by the control unit 116 to return the current status. Since the time-stamped event information received by indicator 106 was sent to control unit 116 during an emergency event, including any new event information received during playback, control unit 116 indicator 106 can be set correctly.

Note that the emergency notification system also includes a reset function that resets all indicators 106 to neutral or start mode. When indicator 106 is connected to control unit 116 via mesh network 109 , control unit 116 emits one or more predetermined sounds to indicate that a new emergency event is occurring within building 100 . A reset command may be issued to cause the indicator 106 to stop emitting the first and second light or heat signals until such time as one or more of the sensors 104 sense again. Each indicator 106 may include a reset button when the indicator 106 is not connected to the control unit 116 . Alternatively, the reset may occur automatically after a predetermined time, such as one day or more, set longer than any time reasonable for the emergency event to proceed.

FIG. 6 illustrates an emergency notification method 600 for providing information to the outside of a building about emergency events occurring inside the building. At step 602, sensors 104, indicators 106, and one or more timers 110 are provided according to any of the variations previously described. At step 604 , a predetermined sound is detected by sensor 104 . At step 606 , sensor 104 transmits event information to associated indicator 106 . At step 608, indicator 106 emits a first signal. At step 610, the indicator 106 receives the timer signal and changes properties of the first signal based on the timer signal.

In summary, the present invention provides an indicator such that the light or heat signal emitted by the indicator 106 forms a temporal indication of an emergency event occurring inside the building 100 that is detectable from outside the building 100 . 106 relates to emergency notification system 102 installed on or in building 100 . Sensors 104 that detect predetermined sounds are installed inside the building 100 and are each connected to a nearby indicator 106 . When sensor 104 makes a detection, sensor 104 transmits event information to its associated indicator 106 that prompts indicator 106 to emit a first light or heat signal. After a certain amount of time has elapsed, the properties of the first signal change based on the signal from timer 110 connected to indicator 106, thereby providing an indication of elapsed time.

The person skilled in the art realizes that the present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described above. On the contrary, modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the claims. By way of example, the various units described above may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination thereof. As another example, indicators may be placed on the roof of a building. This is usually most beneficial for single storey buildings, but is also expected in multi-storey buildings. In the latter case, indications may be used to indicate sections of the building rather than specific floors.

Claims (12)

An emergency notification system (102) for providing information outside a building (100) about an emergency event occurring inside the building, comprising:
a set of sensors (104) positioned at a plurality of sensor locations inside the building;
a set of indicators (106) positioned at a plurality of indicator locations such that light or heat signals emitted by the indicators are detectable from outside the building;
a timer (110);
including
a. each of the sensors is associated with a neighboring indicator;
b. each of said sensors configured to detect a predetermined sound associated with an emergency event and, in response to detecting said predetermined sound, transmit event information to its associated indicator;
c. each of the indicators is configured to receive the event information from its associated sensor and emit a first light or heat signal in response to receiving the event information;
d. Each of the indicators receives a timer signal from the timer, and the set of indicators together provide an indication over time of the sensor location within the building at which the predetermined sound detectable from outside the building was detected. is configured to change a property of said first optical or thermal signal based on said timer signal to form a motion;
e. said set of indicators is connected within a mesh network (109);
f. a first indicator in the set of indicators is configured to send a mesh network message to all other indicators in the mesh network after receiving event information from its associated sensor;
g. A second indicator in the set of indicators is activated after receiving the mesh network message and if the second indicator is not currently emitting the first light or heat signal. configured to emit a second, non-time-dependent light or heat signal, different from the light or heat signal;
Emergency Notification System (102). 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the properties of the emitted first light or heat signal are modified according to a predetermined scheme according to the elapsed time from detection of the predetermined sound according to the timer signal. Emergency notification system. Emergency notification according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said property of said first optical or thermal signal modified in response to said timer signal is one or more of wavelength or intensity. system. An emergency notification system according to any preceding claim, wherein each of said sensors is associated with the nearest indicator of said set of indicators. Each of the sensors is associated with an indicator located either within the building, within the same room in which the sensor is located, or on an exterior surface of the room. emergency notification system as described in paragraph 1. The emergency notification system of any one of claims 1-5 , further comprising a memory (112) configured to receive and store event information. 7. The emergency notification system of claim 6 , wherein each of said indicators is configured to transmit event information received from its associated sensor to said memory. a. a request-to-answer unit (114) configured to receive input from a user;
b. A control unit (116) for controlling said set of indicators, after input from a user received at said request-to-answer unit:
i. obtaining event information from the memory;
ii. a control unit (116) configured to control the set of indicators and respond to the indication over time according to the event information obtained from the memory;
8. The emergency notification system of claim 6 or 7 , further comprising: 9. The emergency notification system of claim 8 , wherein said request-to-answer unit is a push-button switch located on said building. The emergency notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein said predetermined sound is a prescribed rescue sound, engine sound, explosion sound, collision sound, or gunshot. The emergency notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein said predetermined sound is an alarm sound from an alarm speaker, bell, buzzer, or horn. An emergency notification method (600) for providing information outside a building about an emergency event occurring inside said building, comprising:
a. a set of sensors positioned at multiple sensor locations inside the building and a set of indicators, a mesh network such that light or heat signals emitted by the indicators are detectable from outside the building. providing 602 a set of indicators connected within and located at a plurality of indicator locations, and a timer, each of said indoor sensors being associated with a nearby said indicator;
b. Detecting (604) a predetermined sound associated with an emergency event by the sensor in the set of sensors, and transmitting event information to its associated indicator in response to detecting the predetermined sound. and,
c. A first indicator in the set of indicators receives 606 the event information from its associated sensor and, in response to receiving the event information, a first indicator detectable from outside the building. and send a mesh network message to all other said indicators in said mesh network, a second indicator in said set of indicators indicating the presence of said mesh network message After receiving and if the second indicator is not currently emitting the first light or heat signal, a second non-temporal light or heat signal different from the first light or heat signal transmitting a signal ;
d. The first indicator receives a timer signal from the timer, and the set of indicators together age the sensor location within the building at which the predetermined sound detectable from outside the building was detected. modifying (610) a property of said first light or heat signal based on said timer signal to form an indication;
emergency notification method (600), comprising the steps of:

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